© Jayne Kamin-Oncea | 2021 May 19
For whatever reason — astrological sign, DNA strand, dropped on my head when I was a baby — I’ve never been a ‘tank’ guy.
No, not ‘tank’ as in dunk tank, Patton’s US Army tanks or a bicep-flaunting summer top.
I’m talking about rooting for my teams to lose, to improve draft stock. That ‘tank’.
You’re either a ‘tank’ guy or gal, or you’re not.
I bring this up because the Warriors, after suffering a painful loss at the hands of LeBron (The One-Eyed Bandit) James on Wednesday night, are playing the Memphis Grizzlies for the 8-seed on Friday night at Jumpin’ Joe Lacob’s personal castle, Chase Center.
It’s been suggested that the Warriors would be better off losing to the Grizzlies, to gain a lottery pick. This would be coupled, presumably, with the Minnesota Timberwolves lottery pick (if it lands outside the top 3), and the Warriors would have two lottery picks.
Under the current rules, four teams of the 14 who miss the playoffs can get a lottery pick, slotted 1 through 4. After that, picks 5-14 are slotted by record. So, if the Warriors do, indeed, lose to the Grizzlies, they would either strike it rich and get a top four pick — or pick 14th, having the best record of the non-playoff teams.
In this ‘tank’ scenario, there would be a chance the Warriors get a top four pick *and* Minnesota’s pick (outside the top 3), which could be anywhere from No. 5 to No. 10.
A bountiful haul, to be sure.
You know what else is bountiful? Winning.
Let me distill my thoughts on this even more clearly: Life is short. Let’s win some ballgames.
Setting aside the distasteful and un-American notion of rooting *not* to win (what is this, a Euro soccer tie??), let’s support going for the 8-seed the following ways:
— Playoff experience and minutes for Andrew Wiggins, who has only played in one playoff series in his career. If the Warriors can be who we want them to be next year, the continued assimilation and growth of ‘Two Way Wigs’ is important.
— Playoff experience and minutes for Jordan Poole and Juan Toscano-Anderson. If Poole is going to be the Vinny Johnson-esque ‘Sixth Man Microwave’ off the bench on a contender next year, he needs to keep pulling the trigger on critical shots, like the 3-pointer he hoisted to potentially tie the game with 32 seconds left Wednesday night in L.A. That one didn’t go in, but the more he shoots when the lights are brightest, the better he will get. As for JTA, his anticipated role as a key part of the second unit next year means the more playoff burn he gets, the better.
— We get to see more of Steph Curry.
What, like this needs to be explained? I could get hit by a truck tomorrow. I want all the Steph Curry minutes I can get before the grill of a Mack truck sends me to my maker.
— It creates a culture of winning and expectation of winning in the organization for another year.
Joe Lacob ain’t Chris Cohan, sports fans. He sees his NBA team as something that’s here to win, not jockey for the No. 8 pick instead of the No. 15 pick.
— It keeps alive the dream of an NBA Championship.
Yeah, I said it. If you’re not playing to win the title, why lace ‘em up at all? Yes, the Warriors would be underdogs to the Utah Jazz. But if the Utah Jazz had to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves if they were completely comfortable playing Steph and the Warriors, I think we all know the answer. There’s a reason people have been talking ‘We Believe’ of late.
On top of all that, there’s the matter of the NBA Draft. It is never, ever a sure thing that the top 10 players are demonstrably better than the next 20. In fact, NBA.com ranked the top 10 rookie after this season ended, and while LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards went 1-2 (both top three picks), the rest of the list included players like Cole Anthony of the Magic (15th pick), Isiah Stewart of the Pistons (16th pick), Saddiq Bey of the Pistons (19th pick), Immanuel Quickley of the Knicks (25th pick) and Desmond Bane of the Grizzlies (30th pick).
The Warriors return Klay Thompson next year. The Warriors return James Wiseman next year. The Warriors will have two first-round draft picks next year. The Warriors are headed in the right direction. Let’s keep that direction going forward with more playoff memories, pronto.
Play to win, boys and girls. Play to win. It’s not that complicated.